Interventions for Alzheimer Disease Improve Cognition in Men, Women

TUESDAY, May 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Multidomain interventions are equally effective for improving cognition in women and men, according to a study published online April 26 in the Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease.

Nabeel Saif, from Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian in New York City, and colleagues examined the differential effectiveness of targeted clinical interventions in women versus men in a subgroup analysis of 80 participants in the Comparative Effectiveness Dementia & Alzheimer's Registry (CEDAR) trial. Individuals with normal cognition, subjective cognitive decline, or asymptomatic preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD) were classified as "Prevention," while those with mild cognitive impairment due to AD or mild AD were classified as "Early Treatment." The change from baseline to 18 months on the modified-Alzheimer's Prevention Cognitive Composite was measured as the primary outcome.

The researchers found that both women and men in the Prevention group demonstrated improvements in cognition, with no sex differences observed. In addition, no significant sex differences were seen in cognition in the Early Treatment group. Women demonstrated greater improvements in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis risk score (MESA-RS) than men in the Prevention group. In the Early Treatment group, women demonstrated greater improvements in CV Risk Factors, Aging and Incidence of Dementia risk score and the MESA-RS.

"Our latest results suggest that the individualized management approach used by the CEDAR study in a real-world clinic may offer equal cognitive benefits to both women and men, as well as better mitigation of calculated Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease risk in women compared to men," a coauthor said in a statement. "Our work also highlights the need for larger studies focusing on sex differences in AD-related cognitive trajectories, as the existing body of knowledge lacks conclusive evidence on this issue."

One author disclosed financial ties to Acadia, Biogen, Genentech/Roche, Lilly, and Novo Nordisk.

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